MONTREAL – The governments of Quebec and Canada announced Monday they are investing more than $10 million combined to help non-profit organization Numana set up a multi-hub quantum communication test bed that will initially be available to use in the DistriQ Quantum Innovation Zone in Sherbrooke, Quebec, starting this month.
Additional test bed hubs are expected to open in Montreal and Quebec City in early 2024, according to a Numana announcement.
The Quebec government on Monday announced an investment of $4 million in the project, which is in addition to a $2.5-million financial contribution the provincial government made in 2022.
The federal government is providing $3.6 million in funding under Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED)’s Support for Regional Quantum Innovation initiative, which stems from the Government of Canada’s National Quantum Strategy, a press release explains.
The quantum communication test bed will be available to startups, technology developers, academic institutions, research centres and businesses of all sizes operating in Quebec or elsewhere in the world, according to the release. Organizations and businesses will be able to use the test bed to experiment with quantum technology-based systems and applications for telecom networks.
Integrating emerging quantum communication technologies as they roll out into the market, the test bed infrastructure “will be scalable and its parameters adjustable to meet the needs of participants and a wide range of verticals (health, finance, critical infrastructure, transportation, security, military operations, telecom, etc.),” the release says.
“It will bring together key actors from across the ecosystem (developers, integrators, researchers, suppliers) and make it easier for them to work together in order to ideate and implement innovative solutions,” the release adds.
Each of the test bed hubs will consist of multiple sites and offer a variety of features “that can be leveraged to configure different network topologies and validate use cases,” the release says, adding the test bed will integrate terrestrial, aerial and satellite network components.
Depending on how markets and technologies evolve, the test bed hubs may be interconnected in the future to establish a Quebec-wide quantum communication network, according to the release.
Numana will oversee the deployment, operation and ongoing development of the test bed and make the equipment and infrastructure available to carry out various projects, based on the needs of participants.
Bell (an original partner on the first phase of the project, announced in June 2022), Telus and Ciena “are playing a central role in deploying the physical infrastructure of the test bed,” the release says. Bell and Telus are also providing access to their fibre networks.
These companies “will also be able to develop, design and test their own quantum roadmaps, develop the quantum expertise of their staff and deploy new ultra-secure services to meet the growing demand of the quantum industry, all while…collaborating with academic researchers and start-ups.”
“The global interest in quantum communication and its possibilities is growing,” Nicholas Payant, vice-president of security, corporate systems and operations at Bell, said in the release. “Bell recognizes the importance of research in Québec and is excited to be part of it with the power of our fibre optic network. I am proud of the Bell Team and the unique research done with the University of Sherbrooke, aligning with our purpose of advancing how Canadians connect with each other and the world.”
“Quantum computing will transform the way we process data and enable advances in many fields, such as the discovery of new medicines, the energy transition and artificial intelligence,” said Benoit Simard, vice-president of products at Telus Business Solutions. “We are proud to play an active role in the responsible development of quantum communication and to contribute to the technological dynamism of Quebec by creating an innovation hub that will bring together companies and researchers to contribute to the safe and responsible development of the quantum Internet.”
